Israel has already proven it’s the good guy by spraying the Madleen with an unknown chemical, ramming the vessel, boarding it and making the crew throw their mobile phones overboard.
Israeli commandos were so nice during the encounter that they agreed not to kill anyone as long as they showed total obedience. In fact, the commandos showed such restraint that they didn’t even strip anyone naked. Well, not that I know of…
Israel was temporarily nice to the crew of the Madleen so it could get a propaganda picture and then it took them ashore where it tried to make them watch footage of October 7. When the crew refused, it demanded they sign deportation papers accepting they had illegally entered Israel, even though they were in international waters and it was Israel who took them to Israel!
I understand some of the Madleen crew signed the deportation papers and were sent on their way, but disgracefully, Rima Hassan refused to be repatriated. Apparently, she wouldn’t confess to something she hadn’t done because she has “principles”. Israel says it therefore has no choice but to keep her as a hostage, I mean an, um, prisoner.
Obviously, prisoner is the only accurate word to describe someone who is being illegally detained, having committed no crime. Hassan can’t be a hostage because she smiled defiantly and ate a sandwich and no hostage would ever eat a sandwich. It disrespects all those who were captured on October 7 to call Hassan a hostage, just because she is being held against her will after being abducted by armed men.
I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but Hassan is Palestinian and it’s fine to treat Palestinians this way. It’s what Israel has always done x
I’d like to add that Rima Hassan is a member of the EU parliament. I didn’t know that. I’d ask why our countries are allied with such a state, but it’s clear that quite a few national government members in the EU would love it if Hassan spent the rest of her term in an Israeli prison (or worse).
So I’m going to say that I think Hassan is doing the right thing here. Either the Israelis let her go and accept that there is at least some form of accountability they must accept, or they keep a French MEP hostage, which erodes EU support day by day. Hassan does have some risk as in I wonder how France would react to something happening to her, which is ridiculous as it is.
As discussed below: She is free to leave. She doesn’t want to leave Israel. Now Israel is doing the whole due process to kick her out. So she will not spent her time in jail - this is totally senseless theatre.
She shouldn’t be forced to confess to a crime she did not commit in order to be released by her kidnappers. Stop doing hasbara on the timeline
She was kidnapped, her ship was attacked by Israel in international waters and she was taken there by force. And now they want her to beg to be released, which she understandibly won’t do.
She is an EU lawmaker FFS.